Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...
,
journalistic,
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
, or
technical
Technical may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle
* Technical area, an area which a manager, other coaching personnel, and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a football match
* Technical advisor, a person who ...
forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as
narrative structure
Story structure or narrative structure is the recognizable or comprehensible way in which a narrative's different elements are unified, including in a particularly chosen order and sometimes specifically referring to the ordering of the plot: ...
,
character development,
literary tropes, genre, and
poetics. Both
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
al and
non-fiction
Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...
al works fall into this category, including such forms as
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
s,
biographies
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...
,
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
,
poem
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
s, and even some forms of
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
. In academic settings, creative writing is typically separated into fiction and poetry classes, with a focus on writing in an original style, as opposed to imitating pre-existing genres such as
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
or
horror. Writing for the screen and stage—
screenwriting
Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession.
Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, dev ...
and
playwriting—are often taught separately, but fit under the creative writing category as well.
Definition
Creative writing can technically be considered any writing of
original composition. In this sense, creative writing is a more contemporary and process-oriented name for what has been traditionally called
literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
, including the variety of its
genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
s. In her work, ''Foundations of Creativity'', Mary Lee Marksberry references Paul Witty and
Lou LaBrant's ''Teaching the People's Language'' to define creative writing. Marksberry notes:
In academia
Unlike academic writing classes that teach students to write based on the rules of
language
Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
, creative writing focuses on students' self-expression. While creative writing as an educational subject is often available at various stages of primary and secondary school (
K–12
K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an English language expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States and Canada, which is similar to publicly supported sch ...
), the most refined teaching of creative writing is in universities.
Following a reworking of university education in the
post-war
A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...
era, creative writing courses have gained increasing prominence in universities.
In the UK, the first formal creative writing program was established as a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
degree at the
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...
in 1970 by the novelists
Malcolm Bradbury and
Angus Wilson. With the beginning of formal creative writing programs:
Programs of study
Creative writing programs are typically available to writers from the high school level all the way through graduate school/university and adult education. These programs are traditionally housed in English departments, but creative writing programs have increasingly spun off into their own departments. Creative writing undergraduate degrees tend to be
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
(BA) or
Bachelor of Fine Arts
A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA).
Background ...
(BFA) degrees, but
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
(BSc) degrees also exist. Postgraduate courses include
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
,
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...
, or
Master of Studies.
Ph.D. programs are also becoming more prevalent in the field, as more writers attempt to bridge the gap between academic study and artistic pursuit.
Creative writers often place an emphasis on either fiction or poetry, and often starting with short stories or poems. Students then make a schedule based on this emphasis, including reading assignments, regular writing tasks, and workshops to strengthen their skills, knowledge and techniques. Screenwriting and playwriting courses may be housed in
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
and
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
departments as well as creative writing departments. Creative writing students are encouraged to get involved in extracurricular writing-based activities, such as publishing clubs, school literary magazines or newspapers, writing contests, writing colonies or conventions, and extended education classes.
In the classroom
Creative writing is usually taught in a
workshop format, where students submit original work for peer critique. Students also develop a writing process through the practice of writing and re-writing. Courses also teach the means to exploit or access latent creativity, and may teach more technical issues such as
editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...
,
narrative structure
Story structure or narrative structure is the recognizable or comprehensible way in which a narrative's different elements are unified, including in a particularly chosen order and sometimes specifically referring to the ordering of the plot: ...
,
literary technique
A narrative technique (also, in fiction, a fictional device) is any of several storytelling methods the creator of a narrative, story uses,
thus effectively relaying information to the audience or making the story more complete, complex, or engag ...
s,
genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
s, idea generation, or overcoming
writer's block. Writers such as
Michael Chabon,
Kazuo Ishiguro
is a Japanese-born English novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary fiction authors writing in English, having been awarded several major literary prizes, including the 2 ...
,
Kevin Brockmeier,
Ian McEwan,
Karl Kirchwey,
Rose Tremain
Dame Rose Tremain (born 2 August 1943) is an English novelist, short story writer, and former Chancellor of the University of East Anglia.
Life
Rose Tremain was born Rosemary Jane Thomson on 2 August 1943 in London to Viola Mabel Thomson and ...
,
David Benioff,
Darren Star and
Peter Farrelly
Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and novelist. Along with his brother Bobby Farrelly, Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing quirky comedy and r ...
have graduated from university creative writing programs.
Many educators find that using creative writing can increase students' academic performance and
psychological resilience
Psychological resilience, or mental resilience, is the ability to cope mentally and emotionally with a crisis, or to return to pre-crisis status quickly.
The term was popularized in the 1970s and 1980s by psychologist Emmy Werner as she conduc ...
. The activity of completing small goals consistently—rather than having unfinished big goals—engenders pride, which releases
dopamine
Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. It is an amine synthesized ...
and increases motivation. Students build resilience by documenting and analyzing their experiences, providing new perspectives on old situations and providing a means to sort emotions. It also increases a student's level of compassion and creates a sense of
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
among students in what could otherwise be deemed an isolating classroom.
International students
Creative writing may have an influence not only on native-speaking students but also on international students.
Educators who advocate for creative writing say incorporating creative writing classes or exercises has the potential to develop students into better readers, analysts, and writers.
These same people say creative writing can have similar effects on international students by acting as a platform for them to share their own heritage, experiences, and values.
Scholar Youngjoo Yi conducted a case study that tested this idea over two years. Yi focused on an international student from Korea and examined how her creative writing class influenced her in-school and out-of-school writing. He concluded that taking the creative writing class made her a more confident writer—not only in English but also in other languages—and the projects done in her creative writing class encouraged her to express and connect her Korean heritage with her English writing.
Composition studies
Argument and research writing is a major focus in the field of composition studies. The focus on academic writing tends to leave little room for creative writing in writing studies. Gregory Stephens suggests that focusing heavily on academic writing prevents students from developing their own unique writing style and voice.
When he applied creative writing pedagogy techniques to STEM students at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, he found exercises such as "self-characterization" and storytelling assignments helped his STEM students develop empathy, self-awareness, and a narrative voice. He suggests these skills are transferable to real-world situations such as professional settings.
By engaging in creative writing exercises, students are able to break free from the "constraints of formal thinking and writing" of academic writing, potentially boosting students’ confidence, creativity, and overall writing skills.
In academia
Creative writing is considered by some academics (mostly in the US) to be an extension of
English studies
English studies (or simply, English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries. This is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is a dis ...
, although it is taught around the world in many languages. Some academics see creative writing as a challenge to the tradition in English studies of dealing with the critical study of literary forms, not the creation of literary forms. In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, as well as increasingly in the US and the rest of the world, creative writing is considered a discipline in its own right, not an offshoot of any other discipline.
Those who support creative writing programs—either as part of or separate from the study of English—argue for the academic worth of the experience. They suggest creative writing hones the students' abilities to clearly express their thoughts and entails an in-depth study of literary terms and mechanisms that can improve the writers' work. The planning, development, critical analysis and creative
problem-solving
Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...
skills are further used in other areas beyond creative writing.
Some people suggest that creative writing cannot be taught. In an article for the ''New Yorker'', essayist
Louis Menand quotes
Kay Boyle, the director of the creative writing program at San Francisco State University for sixteen years, who said, "all creative-writing programs ought to be abolished by law". The
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
of creative writing is also a source of debate. Critics of MFA and English graduate programs say the methods of instruction discriminate against people with disabilities, emphasizing writing practices such as daily writing requirements or location-based writing that students with chronic illnesses, physical or mental health barriers, and neurodivergency are unable to access. The selection of texts used in traditional creative writing programs has also been criticized, with scholars such as Caleb González saying that the
Western literary canon and writing pedagogy are "historically rooted and linked to exclusion and structural racism in creative writing programs".
In prisons
In the late 1960s, American prisons began implementing creative writing programs due to the prisoner rights movement that stemmed from events such as the
Attica Prison riot.
These creative writing programs, like other art programs, aim to provide education, structure, and a creative outlet to encourage rehabilitation of prisoners. These programs' continuation relies heavily on volunteers and outside financial support from sources such as authors and activist groups.
The Poets Playwrights Essayists Editors and Novelists, known as
PEN
PEN may refer to:
* (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI)
* PEN International, a worldwide association of writers
** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International
** PEN America, located ...
, were among the most significant contributors to creative writing programs in America. In 1971, PEN established the Prison Writing Committee to implement and advocate for creative writing programs in prisons throughout the U.S. The PEN Writing Committee improved
prison libraries, inspired volunteer writers to teach prisoners, persuaded authors to host workshops, and founded an annual literary competition for prisoners. Workshops and classes help prisoners build self-esteem, make healthy social connections, and learn new skills, which can ease
prisoner reentry (reoffending).
Creative writing programs offered in juvenile correction facilities have also proved beneficial. In Alabama, Writing Our Stories began in 1997 as an anti-violence initiative to encourage positive self-expression among incarcerated youths. The program found that participants gained confidence, the ability to empathize and see their peers in a more positive light, and the motivation to want to return to society and live a more productive life.
One California study of prison fine arts programs found that art education increased emotional control and decreased disciplinary reports. Participation in creative writing and other art programs results in significant positive outcomes for the inmates' mental health, their relationships with their families, and the facility's environment. The study found that improved writing skills enhanced participants' abilities in other academic areas of study. Teaching prisoners creative writing can encourage literacy, teach necessary life skills, and provide prisoners with an outlet to express regret, accountability, responsibility, and a kind of restorative justice.
Elements
*
Action
*
Character
*
Conflict
*
Dialogue
Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...
*
Genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
*
Narration
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
*
Pace
*
Plot
*
Point of view
*
Scene
*
Setting
*
Style
Style, or styles may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal
* ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film
* ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film
* '' ...
*
Suspense
Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...
*
Theme and
motif
*
Tone
*
Voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...
Forms and genres of literature
*
Autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
/
Memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
*
Creative non-fiction (Personal & Journalistic Essays)
*
Children's books
A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...
*
Drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
*
Epic
*
Flash fiction
*
Graphic novels/
Comics
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
*
Novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
*
Novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...
*
Play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
*
Poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
*
Screenplay
A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
*
Short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
*
Dialogues
*
Blogs
A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
See also
*
Asemic writing
*
Author
In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
*
Book report
*
Clarion Workshop
*
Collaborative writing
Collaborative writing is a procedure in which two or more persons work together on a Writing, text of some kind (e.g., academic papers, reports, creative writing, projects, and business proposals). It is often the norm, rather than the exception, i ...
*
Creativity
Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable Idea, ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, Literature, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physica ...
*
Electronic literature
Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or Generative literature, algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature ar ...
*
Expository writing
The rhetorical modes (also known as modes of discourse) are a broad traditional classification of the major kinds of formal and academic writing (including speech-writing) by their rhetorical (persuasive) purpose: narration, description, expo ...
*
Fan fiction
Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...
*
Fiction writing
*
High School for Writing and Communication Arts (in New York City)
*
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...
*
Literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
*
Naked Writing
*
Show, don't tell
Show, don't tell is a narrative technique used in various kinds of texts to allow the reader to experience the story through actions, words, subtext, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than through the author's exposition, summarization, a ...
*
Songwriting
A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...
*
Stream of consciousness (narrative mode)
In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. It is usually in the form of an interior monologue which ...
*
Writer's block
*
Writing
Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...
*
Writing circle
*
Writing process
*
Writing style
In literature, writing style is the manner of expressing thought in language characteristic of an individual, period, school, or nation. Thus, style is a term that may refer, at one and the same time, to singular aspects of an individual's writing ...
*
Writing Workshop
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Republished as
*
External links
Creative Writing Guide - The University of Vermont
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creative Writing
Communication design
Creativity
Writing